What would it look like if superbacteria devoured deep space objects? Photographer Marcus DeSieno's new series, Cosmos, endeavors to answer this random and awesome question. By taking photos of bacteria from many different- and creative- places, he demonstrates that germs can have similar beauty to celestial phenomena like galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters, as long as they eat them first.

A Photograph of a Hydrogen Gas Cloud Eaten by Bacteria Found on a Gas Station Pump:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

In order to create these remarkable images, DeSieno cultures bacteria on Hubble images copied onto strips of film. After a few days, the bacteria begin to eat through the film, creating the effect that the bacteria are actually eating through astronomical objects.

A Photograph of the Crab Nebula Eaten by Bacteria Found on a Table at a Red Lobster Restaurant:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

DeSieno collected these bacteria in everyday locations, the most entertaining of which are probably "a toilet seat," "my iPhone's screen," "a motel's heart-shaped hot tub," and "my asshole." At any one moment, he has up to 500 strips of bacteria colonies in his studio. "It smells horrible," he told Wired. "But you have to make sacrifices for your art I guess."

A Photograph of the Planet Venus Eaten by Bacteria Found Inside of a Vagina:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of the Whirlpool Galaxy Eaten by Bacteria Found in a Motel's Heart-Shaped Hot Tub:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of the Trumpler 17 Region Eaten by Bacteria Found in My Trombone's Mouthpiece:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of the Reticulum Constellation Eaten by Bacteria Found on My Television's Remote:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of the Pleiades Star Cluster Eaten by Bacteria Found on a Public Bathroom's Door Handle:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of the Milky Way Eaten by Bacteria Found in Unpasteurized Milk:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of the Little Dumbbell Nebula Eaten by Bacteria Found on My Gym's 20-Pound Dumbbells:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of an Elliptical Galaxy Eaten by Bacteria Found on My Toilet Seat:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of Alpha Centauri Eaten by Bacteria Found on My Asshole:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of a Star Cluster Eaten by Bacteria Found on My iPhone's Screen:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of a Star Cluster Eaten by Bacteria Found on a Light Switch:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of a Star Cluster Eaten by Bacteria Found in My Saliva:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of a Solar Flare Eaten by Bacteria Found on the Inside of My Shoe:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of a Hydrogen Gas Cloud Eaten by Bacteria Found on My Keyboard:

[Credit: Marcus DeSieno]

A Photograph of a Barred Lenticular Galaxy Eaten by Bacteria Found in My Belly Button: